Clare Charbonnet, SAA '03
St. Agnes connects with Clare Charbonnet, SAA class of 2003...
Tell us about yourself (education, career, family, hobbies, etc.)
After graduating from St. Agnes in 2003, I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. I then took a position as an information technology analyst for Deloitte Consulting. I configured supply chain software for automotive clients in the eastern US for nearly two-and-a-half years. In 2009, I joined an international disaster response organization and moved to southeast Asia. I worked primarily as a demolition team leader and oversaw the deconstruction of houses that were too badly damaged by disasters to be repaired.
While doing house demolition in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, I also volunteered in a large field hospital. Through indelible experiences in that chaos, I discovered my vocation as a physician. I returned to the United States for medical school and then an emergency medicine residency in Cleveland. On the rare occasion when I am not in the hospital or working in the LifeFlight helicopter, I can be found reading while cuddled up with my cats. Next year, I am moving to Massachusetts to continue working as an emergency medicine physician and to study the field of disaster medicine.
What’s the best part about your career in a STEM field?
In general, STEM fields are dynamic, fast-paced, and intellectually challenging. They also offer the most complex and interesting problems. An organized, dedicated team of analytically-minded individuals can tackle anything by relying on fundamental problem-solving skills. Furthermore, everyone is welcome. The only requirements to join the team are a willingness to learn those fundamentals and to collaborate with others. The practice of emergency medicine allows me to perform thrilling procedures, save critically ill patients, and work alongside an army of brilliant hardworking people who challenge me to grow daily.
How did SAA or SDS best prepare you for your career and/or life today?
St. Agnes inspired intellectual curiosity. Tinkering in the science laboratories was an open invitation to new adventures. Faculty celebrated my near ceaseless interrogation. And since most faculty were female, I grew up accepting the normalcy of women in STEM fields. When changing careers to medicine, I remembered science teachers at SAA fondly. When I went back to school, I discovered my math and science fundamentals remained strong.
In concert with impactful STEM training, St. Agnes also nurtured love of both philosophy and the humanities. Christianity commands each of us to feed the hungry. The Dominican tradition of service still informs my pursuit of greater health equity for my patients. Armed with a strong foundation in humanities, I can read the news critically, draft a persuasive argument, and understand my work in the greater historical context of the epoch change in which we are living.
Share excitement or thoughts on how SAA and SDS are choosing to invest in STEM facilities and programming through the Go Light the World campaign.
STEM fields are fueled by an unbridled sense of wonder. Professionals in these careers must challenge the status quo, whether in the form of widely-accepted baseless dogma or archaic misogyny. One of the unspoken promises of St. Agnes is that girls can aspire to anything from blasting apart atoms to piloting the International Space Station. We are well-named the ‘Stars.’ What has left eons of humans more awestruck that the vast cosmos? Investing in modern STEM facilities is another commitment by SAA to instill young women with this essential wonder so the next generation of graduates will continue pushing the boundaries between what is known and what is knowable.